A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science inGender and Development Studies, School of Environment, Resources and Development

Voluntary rural-urban migration of Khmer ethnic women to Ho Chi Minh City is a common phenomenon because of slowdown in agricultural production in rural area and increase in industrial zones in the city. Khmer women face more vulnerabilities than the majority, because they are less educated, are lower-skilled and they cannot speak Vietnamese language.Khmer migrant women to Ho Chi Minh City in this research come from three communes in Tra Cu district, Tra Vinh province in the South of Vietnam. They mainly work in the city as domestic workers, factory workers or others in the informal sector. Khmer ethnic women from the same village usually work the same job. They are suffered from long working hours and poor living condition in the city, while they remit some savings to their families in rural areas. Such remittances contribute to the totalhousehold income and help to improve their family living conditions in rural areas. In addition, remittances from Khmer migrants{u2019} women workers contribute to poverty reduction in their rural part and increase more income for rural labor through their family spending.The employers treat Khmer women migrants differently from Kinh women for many reasons. This research analyses the experiences of Khmer female migrants in Ho Chi Minh City. It is based on both primary and secondary information both in Ho Chi Minh City and in three communes. This research has also employed an ethnographic approach that included informal discussions, non-participant observation.

Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012